


Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You?

by PrinceSkylar



Series: Taking Care Of Things [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Awkward Conversations, Bonding, Boys Being Boys, Daddy Issues, Drinking, Fights, Friendship, Kibas father (OC), M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, kankuro might be low key pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 19:33:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13864521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSkylar/pseuds/PrinceSkylar
Summary: The last time he and Kankuro had been alone together had been almost three years ago, for the last meeting the three sand siblings took together before Temari made her stay in Konoha permanent. Kankuro had confided in him his sadness at Temari moving to Konoha, about her no longer being there with them all the time. Considering that for a long time Temari had been the one person who understood the struggles of surviving the way they had to with him, Kiba had understood. He wasn't sure how he'd handle it if Hana had moved away, either. That was a different kind of visit, that one, and a different kind of spending time together. Their usual hang-outs were filled with jokes and food and sometimes sparing, just to let loose extra energy. That night had been different; Kankuro had been different. He was softer, sadder, and had sat closer to Kiba than he ever had before, seeking out comfort without actually asking for it.Kiba's free time means bonding, and more strange feelings.





	Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You?

**Author's Note:**

> So all of these installments are going to be a lot longer than the first handful. I have a lot packed in that I want to write but I don't want this to be like 30+ different parts. I'm trying to avoid going over ten parts, fifteen at most...  
> Well anyways here's some bonding with Kankuro and Kiba. I'm trying to tip toe into their dynamic, lay out their friendship before anything else happens. Plus they're both dummies; it'll take them time.
> 
> Enjoy, thanks to you guys for reading!

When Kiba drug himself down the stairs sometime the next morning he felt refreshed, like he hadn't been sleeping on the ground the last two days. Akamaru had left their bedroom earlier that morning, stirred awake by what Kiba could only assume was Gaara getting ready to go to the office. That had been a few hours ago, at least two or three, and Akamaru must have found something else to busy himself with when he didn't come back up to snooze with Kiba a little longer. Not that Kiba minded; cuddling with Akamaru was great but stretching out in bed was...really nice.

He found Akamaru in the kitchen, eating out of a large bowl, probably a mixing bowl from the size of it. Kankuro was there too, dressed in lose pants and nothing else as he stood at the stove, hands busy with a couple of pans that had bacon and eggs, from what it smelled like. The sight took Kiba by surprise for just a second. He was used to Kankuro dressed from head to toe in black, with his face paint on and everything. He couldn't remember ever seeing Kankuro without the face paint now that he thought about it, but there the older man was, standing at the stove the side of his face on full display at the angle he was at. Kind of weird, yeah, but it made Kiba insanely curious all of a sudden. He really didn't know he'd been staring, standing there in the kitchen door way with his head cocked to the side, until Kankuro caught sight of him from the corner of his eye and turned to face him fully. "Morning. I didn't even hear you come down stairs. Akamaru got fed some left over beef from the other night, I hope you don't mind. Big guy looked hungry."

"He's always hungry." Kiba scoffed, eyeing the other man. Kankuro...actually kind of looked like a different person without the face paint. His features were a little more pronounced without the dark purple hiding his lips, or drawing your attention away from his dark eyes. His eyebrow arched as he stared at Kiba, who was also staring, and Kiba cracked a small smile. "Sorry. I've never seen you without the paint."

Kankuro blinked in surprise, snorting a little bit as he turned back to the stove. "Am I so ugly you have to stare?"

"What? You're not ugly." Kiba snorted right back as he leaned against the counter. "Akamaru doesn't like ugly people."

"Oh, what a relief." Kankuro snickered a little bit, shaking his head. "Gaara left earlier, he's an early riser, but he said that when he got to the office he'd start looking through the files and stuff for you."

"Oh, yeah, cool." Kiba nodded a little bit, tearing his gaze away to watch Akamaru, licking at the bottom of the empty bowl he had been eating out of. "Are you going out today?"

"No, not with you here." Kankuro shuffled across the kitchen, the muscles in his back flexing as he opened a cabinet and reached up for a couple of plates. "I'd feel bad leaving you here without anything to do so while you're here my schedule is free. Gaara also wanted to make sure you were being entertained while you were here so you weren't bored out of your mind; he knows how different it is here from Konoha."

"That's nice of you guys." Kiba murmured, pushing off the counter so he could walk over and pick up Akamaru's empty bowl. Taking it to the sink, he glanced back towards Kankuro. "I'd probably just walk around the village if I was alone, so you really didn't have to clear your schedule or anything just for me."

"Were we  _not_  just talking about hanging out last night?" Kankuro's lips tugged into a small smirk. "Unless you don't want to hang out with me. Are you too cool for me now, Inuzuka?"

"As if," Kiba smiled a little bit, turning on the sink so he could wash the bowl. He hissed when the water came out hot immediately, turning on some cold water to try and balance it out. "I just don't want to get in the way or anything. I'm already here for personal reasons I drug you and Gaara into, I don't want to get in the way of any plans you have."

"I didn't have any, if that makes you feel better." Kankuro shut off the stove when he walked back to it, starting to make plates for the both of them. "I'm pretty much all yours for the length of your stay so whatever you want to do or see, just let me know."

Well that sounded better than being by himself, anyways.

The first time he and Kankuro had spent time together alone had been two months after the war ended, when Gaara was visiting for a meeting with the Hokage and his siblings had come with him. He and Kankuro had spent almost the whole night at one of the barbecue shops, talking about anything that came to mind. It was all meaningless talk though, Kiba knew, because back then they still weren't very close and Kankuro was more secretive by nature than you'd expect. It was fun though, if Kiba were to be honest. Kankuro was great company, had the same sense of humor he did, and their snarky remarks and jokes bounced back and forth between them all night long.

"So you're looking for your dad." It wasn't a question but it was spoken so suddenly, with such a loud tone, that it caught Kiba by surprise.

Kiba dried his hands on his shirt as he turned to Kankuro, taking the plate that was held out to him, and he managed a slightly side ways smile. "Yeah, I am." He murmured, walking past Kankuro to sit at the table.

"Never heard you talk about your dad before." Kankuro noted casually, sitting across from him.

The  _last_  time he and Kankuro had been alone together had been almost three years ago, for the last meeting the three sand siblings took together before Temari made her stay in Konoha permanent. He and Kankuro had been much closer by then, spending all day together drinking late into the night at one of the bars in the center of the village. Kankuro had confided in him his sadness at Temari moving to Konoha, about her no longer being there with them all the time. Considering that for a long time Temari had been the one person who understood the struggles of surviving the way they had to with him, Kiba had understood. He wasn't sure how he'd handle it if Hana had moved away, either. That was a different kind of visit, that one, and a different kind of spending time together. Their usual hang-outs were filled with jokes and food and sometimes sparing, just to let loose extra energy. That night had been different; Kankuro had been different. He was softer, sadder, and had sat closer to Kiba than he ever had before, seeking out comfort without actually asking for it. Kiba suddenly felt an over whelming guilt for not seeing his friend in so long after something like that.

"I've never talked about my dad with anyone, so it's nothing personal." Kiba murmured finally, brushing those thoughts away. "I've mentioned him to Shino and Hinata but not much. I guess I kind of caught everyone off guard with it."

"I was kind of on the same page with Gaara, I thought maybe your dad died." Kankuro admitted. "I mean the few times I've been to your house it was just your mom and there weren't any pictures or anything of your dad."

"Mom keeps his pictures packed away."

"Was he that bad?"

"I don't really know; I could barely talk correctly when he bailed."

"He bailed, though, which still makes him sound shitty."

"My point exactly." Kiba nodded firmly. "I'm not even sure if he's still here. He moved over when shit between our villages were really bad so there's a chance he might have moved on. I'm hoping he didn't."

"Guess we'll find out." Kankuro agreed, shoveling eggs into his mouth like he was starving. "How're your mom and sister doing?"

Kiba snorted softly and started eating too. "They're alright. Hana's been keeping pretty busy at the clinic lately. Mom's been taking care of Akamaru's pups."

"Pups?" Kankuro echoed with a grin, looking over at the big dog now lying on the kitchen floor. "You settled down huh, big guy? I bet your mate is quite a babe."

Kiba snorted loudly at that, covering his mouth so he didn't spew food everywhere. " _Kankuro_."

"What? Akamaru's the only one in this house with a love life, I gotta congratulate him." The other insisted with a grin, tossing a slice of bacon down, Akamaru catching it with his teeth.

Kiba huffed a little bit. "Hey, what makes you think he's the only one with a love life? What if I have one?"

Kankuro's eyes darted back to him, curious. "Do you?"

"...No, but still. You could have asked."

"I didn't have to; Temari told me the last time she came to visit that you're still as single as ever."

"That was like  _four_  months ago! You didn't assume that maybe I got a date since then?"

"I'm sorry." Kankuro relented, his smile softening a little bit. "I just kind of assumed that Temari would have told me if you had someone special in your life. I ask about you in our letters too, not just when she comes to visit."

Kiba paused, food half way to his mouth. "You ask about me?"

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I?" Kankuro's smile seemed a bit different now, maybe a little strained, as if he might have thought he said the wrong thing. "You're kind of my best friend."

As if he didn't feel guilty enough already, now Kiba was almost choking on the guilt. He hadn't sent a single letter in three years, hadn't been able to see Kankuro at all in his past trips to Suna and yet the puppet master was still calling him his  _best friend_? What had he ever done to be given that title?

"Did I break you?"

Kiba blinked out of his thoughts and shook his head quickly, clearing his throat. "No, sorry I just...I'm surprised that you consider me a best friend. I haven't really been...best friend material. I don't even send you letters."

"So?" Kankuro cocked his head to the side, eyeing him in a way that made Kiba feel...important. "We've both been busy with our own lives; that doesn't make a friendship any less legitimate. I mean hell if you weren't my best friend I wouldn't have been such an emotional mess in front of you the last time we saw each other."'

As flattered as he was, the guilt was still gnawing at him. "I'm...happy you think so highly of me. I just feel bad that you think so much of me when we haven't spoken in three years, you know?"

"We both have our own lives, Kiba." Kankuro's laughter was soft, a far cry from the loud and rumbling laughter he had when they were drunk and rowdy. "I'm the Kazekage's brother, I'm always running around and going places. From what Temari's told me you and your team have been super busy up until the past few months."

"Yeah, yeah...everyone's work slowed down a little." He agreed, nodding. "But they've all kept pretty busy. Naruto and Sasuke having been planning their wedding with Ino's help for the last few months. Sakura's in line to be Hokage, you know, but she's been teaching medical nin-jutsu to genin who wanted to learn-"

"What have you been doing to keep busy?" Kankuro cut in gently.

Kiba blinked in surprise before he shrugged. "I help out at Hana's clinic more than anything else...with the way things are going everyone's kind of branching out into their own things. Shino wants to be a teacher at the academy, which is great, so we might not have missions together anymore soon. I've just been doing what I can to keep busy. The clinic helps but we get stretches of days where there's nothing to do. I've done a lot of solo missions, too."

"Kind of sounds like you're just fluttering in the breeze." Kankuro was finished with his food by now, meaning either he was eating fast or Kiba was eating awfully  _slow_. "Have you thought about doing...anything else? I know you're still on active duty and stuff but have you considered anything else?"

"What, like teaching or something?" Kiba grimaced a little bit. "I'd be an awful teacher, for one. I considered the Konoha police force for a while but I really don't know."

"Well, its not like you have to decide to do something else." Kankuro assured him as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "I just think you might enjoy doing something else more. Maybe working with dogs more."

"I thought about buying more pups so we can raise and breed them." Kiba admitted. "It's something I'll probably do anyways. The only pups we have right now are Akamaru's. I don't think just breeding will be very fulfilling to me. I need things that keep me busy, or keeps me on my feet so I'm not always thinking."

"You need to date somebody." Kankuro snorted. He stood up and took his plate to the sink and continued speaking as he washed it off. "I think your issue is you have too much on your mind because you have too much free time. If you were dating there are  _plenty_  of things you could be doing other than thinking."

The implication wasn't lost on Kiba, despite the fact that he had  _zero_  experience in  _intimate_  activities. He felt his face heat up as he scoffed, scowling a bit at his bacon as he started eating it. "You were just trying to find a way to mock my lack of a love life again, weren't you? You're a dick."

"I'm serious!" Kankuro stressed, looking over his shoulder at him. "Maybe you don't need to date, but you need something to fill up your free time. Knowing you, you probably stay inside at home all day whenever you have a free day. That's gotta be tiring and lonely, especially with your mom and sister always busy." He shut the sink off and made his way back to the table, flicking his wet hands at Kiba to send water flying at him. "You're gonna drive yourself crazy, Kiba."

"Look, I appreciate the concern, really," Kiba told him, his smile more exasperated than anything else as he stared up at Kankuro. "But right now with all the crap going on in my head about my dad, the last thing I want to think about is how boring my life is gotten."

Kankuro's gaze softened and turned more apologetic. "Yeah, yeah, you're right...get this dad stuff sorted out first. That's the big picture right now. Hurry up and eat, we're gonna go out."

"Go out where?" Kiba asked him.

"Just out." The other replied with a shrug, turning to leave the kitchen so he could go get dressed, Kiba figured.

Going out, apparently, meant Kankuro dragging Kiba out into the village. Not that Kiba minded too much. Now that he was comfortable, hydrated, and fed, the heat didn't bother him as much. Akamaru didn't seem to mind, stopping to let kids pet him whenever they gawked in surprise at his size. Kiba watched him fondly for a second before he glanced back at Kankuro. He was dressed in his black outfit and face paint again, a small smile on his lips as they made their way down the road. He didn't peg Kankuro as a morning person but here he was, wide awake and smiling before noon. Temari was the same way, if Kiba remembered correctly, and apparently Gaara was too.

"Are we going anywhere specific?" He found himself asking after a couple of minutes.

"Store, picking up a couple of things we'll need tonight." Kankuro told him. "I made Gaara promise to come home before dinner and you'll be awake this time, so I figured I could make us all something good. You like the curry I send home with Temari, right?"

Kiba paused mid-step, head whipping around in surprise. " _You_  make the hot beef curry?"

Kankuro looked just as surprised as he did, maybe a little confused too. "She didn't tell you?" He sounded offended above anything else.

"No, she just said she gets it from some guy." Kiba explained with a huff. "That's the exact set of words she uses, too; Some Guy."

"That bitch." Kankuro scoffed, frowning a little bit. "But yeah, I make the hot beef curry. I can make that for us tonight if you want."

"Dude, I'd never say no to hot beef curry." Kiba assured him seriously, patting Kankuro's shoulder. "I can help make it too, if you-"

"Nope!" Kankuro cut in, shaking his head firmly. "Sorry but my one kitchen rule is that when I'm cooking no one else comes in. I cook by myself and I'm not afraid to chase you out with a wooden spoon. You can ask Gaara; I've chased him out with wooden spoons plenty of times."

"Harsh." Kiba shoved his hands into his pockets. "But okay, I can accept that. I'll just...make awkward conversation with Gaara while you cook."

"I promise you, Kiba, he'll feel ten times more awkward than you will." He reached out to grab onto the end of Kiba's jacket, tugging him along when he turned a sharp corner. "He'll probably just ask you questions about what you've been up to."

"Oh, so like you but minus the love life teasing?"

"You really don't let go, do you?"

"You hurt my _feelings_."

"I'm making you curry, asshole."

"You can't win me over with curry." Kiba feigned hurt, crossing his arms and looking away.

Kankuro hummed softly as he yet again gripped Kiba by the jacket, veering him down another turn. "Okay, well what about hot beefy curry and booze? I was gonna bust out some drinks for us at home but I mean if that won't help your apparently  _very_  broken heart then I'll just leave it where it is."

It wasn't the offer of booze that won him over. Drinking together was just what they did. It was their thing. For the first time since Kankuro called him his best friend Kiba felt a little more like a  _good_  friend. They could drink and talk like they always did, maybe get Kiba's mind off of the dad stuff for a while. "Fine, I guess I forgive you."

"Knew I could convince you." Kankuro slung his arm around Kiba's shoulders, bringing them closer as they made their way down one of the market center streets. "You can't help me cook but you can help me pick out some of the stuff we're gonna need. We definitely need beef, and I trust you to help find us some top quality meat. You've got a good nose for it."

"That sounds more like you don't trust the vendors than you trusting me." Kiba pointed out in a softer voice, not wanting any of the vendors in question to hear them.

Kankuro rolled his eyes a little bit, smiling at him. "I'm letting you feel useful."

"Oh, aren't you just the sweetest?"

Kiba did feel pretty useful though, talking back and forth with the vendors selling different cuts of different meats. He did have a pretty good nose for sniffing out good meat, something that usually came most in handy for him on missions when they had to fend for themselves in the wild. It helped a lot when Akamaru had been a pup, too, considering puppies will eat just about anything. When the meat was picked out and Kankuro paid for it Kiba turned around, only to scoff at the sight of Akamaru wagging his tail at them with his eyes locked on the bag they put the meat in.

"I hope you don't think I'm going to give you this meat that we're using for dinner." Kiba eyed the dog carefully, a hand on his hip. "You know better than that, Akamaru."

Akamaru barked at him. Loudly. Kiba blinked a few times and scoffed, offended. "No, I will not give you any of my curry later, either! You know how bad curry messes with your stomach and I'm sure Gaara and Kankuro don't want to be smelling dog gas all night."

"From a dog  _that_  size? No thanks." Kankuro chimed in, grimacing.

Offended, Akamaru snorted at the both of them and turned his face away to pout. Kiba rolled his eyes and looked over at Kankuro, amused. "He's pouting now."

"He's cute."

"He's an absolute menace to society. I love him."

"I know you do, Kiba."

* * *

"I'm afraid to say that I couldn't find anything of use to you today." Gaara looked stiff and formal even here, in his own house on his own couch. He was staring at Kiba from the other end of said couch, lips turned down in a very small frown. "I looked but records from that period of time are very...scattered. I'm sure I'll find it."

"Don't stress too hard on it." Kiba assured him as he shifted, pulling his legs up onto the couch and offering the Kazekage a small smile. "I have time so it's alright."

"I know." Gaara replied, hands clenching and then unclenching in his lap. "I'm just aware that this is important to you and I hate to make you wait. I can imagine that it's rather anxiety inducing."

"It...is." Kiba agreed, picking at the knee of his pants to try and distract himself. "But I don't want you to stress over it too much, either. You have enough going on with your own village, you can focus on your people before me."

Gaara's frown twitched and Kiba dared to call it a smile. "You're too kind. However, I think the fact that his name wasn't on any of the recent village immigration papers means it's safe to assume there's a very strong chance he's still here. If he were an active duty shinobi his name would be familiar because he would be checking in for missions. So I think that if he is here, he's a civilian. Probably has been for a while."

"That's...a pretty good guess." He had figured as much, really. It made his stomach twist a little bit to be reminded that there was a big chance he was in the same village as his dad. That his dad was here living his life and had no  _fucking clue_  Kiba was even here in the first place. He bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood on his tongue, and then he cleared his throat. "Thank you for your help, Gaara. And for letting me stay here, by the way."

"You don't have to thank me." Gaara assured him, and this time Kiba knew the red head was smiling. "We may not be very close but Kankuro thinks highly of you; It's an honor to have you here and to have the opportunity to help you in this personal journey."

"Well, aren't you a sap?" Kiba threw a teasing smile at him, watching Gaara laugh a little bit. Kiba sat up a little more, turning so he could face Gaara fully. "Gaara, can I ask you something? It's a bit off topic."

Gaara nodded as he turned his body a little more towards Kiba, maybe trying to look more inviting. "Yes, of course."

"What do you think of Sasuke?"

"Sasuke?" Gaara echoed, eyes widening a bit in surprise.

Gaara, everyone knew, held Naruto very close to his heart. Naruto was, and will always be, Gaara's best friend. His first best friend, to be exact, and Gaara didn't keep it a secret how much he cared for the other. Kiba had, for a while, feared that maybe Gaara had fallen head over heels for Naruto which...wouldn't have been too unexpected. He didn't, though, and Kiba had only figured that out because Naruto had been bragging about walking in on Gaara and Rock Lee making out outside of the Hokage's office during one of his earlier visits. That...was a whole other story, but Kiba respected their ability to maintain a relationship through letters and visits. He himself wouldn't be able to.

Gaara, however, was one of the few people that had voiced his unease with Sasuke's return. Kiba really didn't blame him seeing as several of their friends had too, despite the fear that they would upset Naruto or Sakura in anyway. Kiba, at least, felt like some of them had a  _right_  to be weary. Several of them had nearly died trying to bring Sasuke back that day when they were kids, something Kiba didn't like to think too hard on. Sasuke was a comrade, sure, and the truth behind the atrocities that drove him down his chosen path were awful, but the last thing anyone wanted was to see Naruto go through that all over again.

"I don't dislike him." Gaara said finally. "I never truly disliked him anyways. I was weary of his return to Konoha, yes, but that was because of all the events that had led up to the war and everything else. Sasuke is...someone who believed what he was doing was right and in a way, that's admirable. I hold no ill will for his past actions. What I care about now are his current actions, the way he makes Naruto feel and the way he treats him. Naruto expresses nothing but sheer joy...and the few talks I've had with Sasuke myself since his return have shown me that he's not the same person he was before. He and Naruto are in love and trying to make things right and that's something I'm very happy about. I'm eager for his wedding so that I can wish them a happy marriage myself."

That was something Kiba expected to hear. It was how he felt, too. If Sasuke and Naruto could be happy and find their way to fix things, then that was all that mattered. Kiba shifted on the couch again and cocked his head to the side, letting a teasing smirk form on his lips. "You sure you're not just eager to see Lee?"

Gaara's eyes widened, more than before, and Kiba was down right delighted to see the blush that dusted the other's cheeks. "That...could also be a reason for my excitement, yes."

"Naruto still tells the story, you know. About walking to the Hokage's office and seeing you two making out in the middle of the hallway."

"He does  _not_."

"He does. It flusters Lee in less than a second every single time."

Gaara sighed, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, despite the smile that still worked itself on his lips. "I'll have to have a talk with Naruto about privacy."

"Did I just embarrass the Kazekage?" Kiba sat up more, amusement written all over his face.

"No." Gaara insisted softly, scoffing a little bit as he let his hand fall back into his lap. "You caught me by surprise, that's all."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Kiba snorted a little bit and then looked towards the kitchen, watching Akamaru scamper out of the kitchen as they heard Kankuro's irritated shouting. Kiba rolled his eyes a little bit and then looked at Gaara again. "I give you and Lee credit for being able to...keep this up as long as you have."

Gaara's head tilted to the side a little bit. "What do you mean?"

Kiba made a vague gesture with his hand. "You guys send letters, and you only see each other so every so often. I know Lee takes time off to come see you once a month at least and you see him on your visits but it just...sounds hard, you know? The long distance thing."

Gaara's expression relaxed a little bit, almost like his whole body did. He was leaning back into the couch now, looking more at home and content than he had earlier. "I suppose for some it would be difficult. I think for people who need the constant contact with people it would be impossible. As of right now I'm still struggling to try and be comfortable with opening myself up in the way that I have to Lee. It isn't as if we want to be this distant forever, mind you. Eventually we'll be together correctly, but for now we make do like this because of my position as Kazekage. It's difficult at times, yes, but worth it. As I said before though, it would most likely be very difficult for people who need constant contact with lovers."

Kiba could understand and respect that. When Akamaru padded over to the couch and laid his head beside Kiba, he reached a hand down to stroke his head. "I don't think I could do it."

"Well, there's no shame in that."

Kiba cracked another smile and looked down at Akamaru. "You were harassing Kankuro in the kitchen, weren't you? You heard him say he doesn't like other people in the kitchen with him when he cooks. You got lucky this morning."

"He was in the kitchen with  _me_  before Kankuro started cooking." Gaara interjected. "Kankuro had no place to kick him out. I was feeding him and everything."

"Oh,  _you're_  the one that fed him." Kiba spared another glace at Gaara. "Thanks for that."

"It was no problem." Gaara assured with a small wave of his hand. "I knew you needed the sleep and I didn't want him to wake you up for food, so I fed him for you. I enjoy his company."

"Yeah?" Kiba grinned. "I'm glad. He likes you guys."

"He likes  _me_  more!" Kankuro yelled from the kitchen. "Also, dinner's ready!"

Kiba, as previously stated, _loved_  hot food. The hot beef curry probably wasn't very hot to Suna natives, now that he thought about it as they sat at the table eating together, but to Kiba it was just hot enough to make his eyes sting which was  _perfect_. Akamaru laid on the floor in the kitchen door way watching them but not begging; he knew better than that. He was getting the meat scraps Kankuro had set aside for him anyways, set aside without any curry sauce so that it didn't upset Akamaru's stomach like Kiba had mentioned earlier.

"I'll be going to sleep after dinner." Gaara told Kankuro calmly, reaching for his glass of water. "I want to get an early start since I have a general idea of where to look for the information on Kiba's father."

"That's fine." Kankuro assured him. "Kiba and I will keep the noise down to a minimum while we hang out. We might actually just go hang out in the garden most of the night if that's alright."

"Just do not ruin my plants." Gaara murmured, side eyeing Kankuro in a way that gave Kiba the impression it wasn't his first time dishing out the warning.

"You two have a garden?" He found himself asking, racking his brain to try and remember if he'd heard Temari mention that before.

"It's Gaara's garden." Kankuro corrected him. "He's pretty good at it."

"It calms me." Gaara told Kiba with a small smile. "It's a bit difficult at first but once you figure out what grows best in our environment it gets easier. Cacti are nice and easy but there are other plants that I take care of as well."

"That's neat." Kiba murmured through a mouthful of rice. "What got you into gardening?"

Gaara thought it over, or maybe he was trying to place his words correctly. "We've had that back yard for a long time, but our father wasn't much of a gardener, so it remained empty for a long time. When Lee came on a mission a few years back with Ino and Naruto, Ino gave me suggestions for flowers and plants that could prosper here in the desert. It was mostly curiosity that made me try it but when the plants didn't die I suppose I got excited and wanted to keep doing it. It's...nice to foster life in this sort of environment."

Kiba sort of felt like Gaara was opening up to him more than he expected. He could have been looking too into it, of course, and hoping that he was right because it made him feel special. It was nice though to hear Gaara talk so fondly of a hobby that was, apparently, very important to him. Kiba made a mental note to remember Gaara's affection for gardening.

Dinner ended rather quickly and as Kiba helped Kankuro with dishes Akamaru ate from his bowl, Gaara disappearing upstairs to sleep.

"That curry is to die for, man." Kiba noted as he washed out a bowl. "I can't believe Temari didn't tell me you were the one making it, I could have had Naruto and the other's bringing me some whenever they came here."

"I can give you the recipe you know." Kankuro took the clean bowl from him once it was rinsed out, drying it off and setting it on the counter. "That way you can make it at home and you don't have to wait for my sister to come visit to have more brought to you. Plus it isn't a day and a half old when you eat it if you make it at home."

"Or you can come to Konoha and make it  _for_  me." Kiba suggested. "I really don't think I could make it as well as you do."

"You haven't even  _tried_."

"I'm not a good cook, man. I'm lucky I know how to cook meat correctly."

"That's bullshit; I know your sister and I know she taught you how to cook."

"You know I don't think I like this trend of constantly harassing me." Kiba scowled playfully at him before jabbing his elbow into Kankuro's ribs, making him yelp. "This isn't how you convince me to come visit you more often, you know."

With nothing more than a roll of his eyes Kankuro went back to drying off dishes, smiling faintly. "We'll go out in the garden to drink for a bit. Akamaru can come too but he can't dig up any of the plants or Gaara will literally murder him. And then you."

"He won't dig up any of the plants, he's more behaved than that." Kiba promised him.

"I figured but I still gave you the warning so I can say I did just in case he tore up the garden." He chuckled softly. "Akamaru's a good dog and I have faith in him. That garden just means a lot to Gaara, so I wanted to stress that we have to be careful."

When they finished the dishes Kankuro grabbed a couple shot glasses and two sake bottles, tucking them under his arm and gesturing for Kiba to follow him. He led him down the hall, to a door Kiba hadn't even realized existed when he'd come down this hallway the evening before. They made their way outside and Kiba was taken by surprise by the garden before him, a mixture of yellows and purples that sat in several flower beds scattered across the back yard. There were chairs and a couple of benches, and a comfy looking porch swing. Kankuro veered them to the porch swing, plopping down and not hesitating to open up the first bottle of sake as Kiba took a seat beside him.

"There's so many flowers." Kiba murmured, looking at the flowers despite the disappearing sunlight. "What all does he have growing here?"

Kankuro paused and looked towards the flowers, lifting a hand and pointing to a cluster of purple ones. "Those are called Devil's Claws, I think. He likes the purple shade to them. Those," He pointed to a group of yellow flowers in a closer flower bed. "Those are Desert Marigolds. There's a lot of them here, he really likes them. They grow pretty well. His favorite ones are the ones in the back, those white ones you can barely see? They're called Mariposa Lillies, I think. They have really pretty petals and everything. When the suns back out I'll show you."

"Man, it's pretty amazing how passionate he is about gardening." Kiba marveled softly, looking over as he heard Kankuro filling their shot glasses. He took the one that was handed to him and looked down at it for a second before looking at Kankuro again. "He doesn't strike me as the gardening type."

"Well yeah," Kankuro set the sake bottle down on the ground near their feet. "It's a good hobby for him. Keeps him calm and all that. Plus it was kind of cute watching him when he first started it. He was so worried the flowers would die, he'd be checking on them every couple of hours."

"That's adorable." Kiba agreed softly, tilting his head back as he downed the contents of his shot glass. It burned going down a little, making him blanch and clear his throat.

"You're almost twenty-four and you still cringe when you take shots?" Kankuro snorted softly. "Absolute amateur." As if to emphasize his teasing he downed his shot in one go, his amused expression not even changing.

_That absolute bastard._

"Don't go making this into a game, we'll get wasted and I don't want to go up the stairs wasted later." Kiba warned, reaching down with a free hand to snatch up the sake bottle from the ground.

"Kiba, you saw me bring two bottles out here." Kankuro pointed out. "You knew getting wasted was going to happen anyways."

Well, that much was true at least. "I didn't ask for your input, smart ass." He poured himself a second shot, then filled Kankuro's shot glass too when it was held out to him. Setting the sake back on the ground Kiba leaned back in his seat, looking over the flowers, their colors becoming dimmer as the last of the sunlight finally faded away. He wasn't really sure why all of a sudden he felt less at ease, like his anxiety was threatening to overwhelm him. He kind of wanted to blame Gaara, for opening up to him about his garden and making him feel special. That was a good reason to blame him, right?

"What're you thinking about, Dog breath?" Kankuro's knee nudged his own, making him blink back to reality. He looked over at the other, found those dark eyes already watching him, and when he didn't reply right away Kankuro's expression softened. "Did I lose you or do you go brain dead after sun down?"

"I was totally lost in thought." Kiba admitted, smiling apologetically. "I've been kind of lost in thought since I left home, honestly." Lost in  _several_  thoughts, if he were to be entirely honest.

"This dad stuff really has you messed up, huh?"

"I don't know. There's a lot going on in my head that it's all a jumbled mess." Kiba sighed a bit before he looked back at his friend. "Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer it, I'd understand if you didn't want to."

"Go for it, Kiba. Ask away." Kankuro grinned at him.

"What was your dad like?"

Kankuro's grin all but shattered, a look of surprise on his face as he took a second to try and let the question register in his mind. Kiba felt that overwhelming guilt again, suddenly wanting to down his shot and hide from the rest of the world. He ripped his eyes away from him, staring down into his shot glass and trying to think of a good apology.  _Hey man, sorry for bringing up your dad that absolutely destroyed childhood for you and your siblings!_

"Well, what do you mean what was he like?"

Kiba's head shot up, relief flooding his body at the realization that Kankuro didn't sound upset. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and shrugged. "Like...obviously I know what he was like as Kazekage. Everyone knows what Kazekage Rasa was like. I mean...as an actual dad. You and Temari knew him before...Gaara was born and everything happened with him. Was he any different back then?"

Kankuro took a second to down his shot, making Kiba wince a bit, and leaned back in the seat. "Temari would probably be the better person to ask, honestly. She's older...not by much but enough to have just a little more memory than me. I mean I don't think he was awful, back then. Mom was around so everything was...better."

They'd never talked about Kankuro's mother together. Kiba shifted a little and drank his shot down, clearing his throat. "Your mom was nice?"

"Mom was great." Kankuro nodded, smiling softly. "She was nice and thoughtful, had a gorgeous smile...Temari looks like her sometimes when she makes certain expressions. Everything was good with Mom around. Dad was a little rough around the edges but everyone is here in Suna. With mom he was just...you could just tell they were in love. Those are really the only memories I have of him before everything happened. When Gaara was born and Mom died, Dad just kinda shut us out after a while. Not right away, but eventually. Talking to him was like talking to a wall sometimes and you were afraid to say the wrong thing. I mean I probably shouldn't even complain. Gaara doesn't remember Mom at all, doesn't have any good days of the past to look back on like Temari and I do. I shouldn't whine, y'know?"

"Kankuro, you have every right to be upset over it." Kiba insisted gently. He reached for the sake again, pouring Kankuro his third shot, and then himself. "They were your parents. Of course you'd be upset."

"Yeah, but here I am complaining about my shitty dad when you didn't even  _know_  yours." Kankuro groaned softly, free hand shoving his hat off his head so he could rake his fingers through his brown hair.

Kiba snorted loudly and shook his head a little bit. "Kankuro, I really don't have much reason to complain either. The worst thing my dad did to me was leave. The worst thing your dad did was...well, almost everything."

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't have a right to complain." Kankuro pointed out gently. "You're looking for him because you have complaints."

"I'm here more for my mom and sister's sake." Kiba mumbled, frowning at his shot glass for just a moment before downing it quickly.

Kankuro stared at him for a second, long enough for Kiba to pour himself another shot and look back at him. He couldn't really identify the expression the other was giving him, unsure if it was the face paint making it hard or just his own inability to read emotions correctly. It made him uncomfortable and he was hoping it was just the sake making him feel irritated so suddenly. "What are you staring at me for?"

"I'm trying to figure out when you stopped being honest with yourself." Kankuro replied bluntly, holding up a finger to keep Kiba silent while he took his shot. He sighed softly and reached for the sake. "You remember when I saved your ass that day you all went looking for Sasuke? You were all messed up and bleeding, kept telling me how scared you were for Akamaru because you didn't want to lose your best friend. You were honest with yourself, knowing you were afraid and facing something hard. You've always been pretty honest with yourself, telling people when you're mad or putting shitty men in their place for treating girls like shit...so what's so different now?"

"What are you talking about?" Kiba frowned at him. "What does that have to do with any-"

"You just said you were doing this for your mom and your sister, but you're lying. At least a little." Kankuro cut in. "You're doing this for you because you have an entire gap in your life where your dad was. You said you were small when he left but you were old enough to at least remember his presence being taken away from you. If this was just for your sister and your Mom, you wouldn't have been so nice when Gaara said it would take a few days to find his location. You would have been yelling and huffing, and then ran out of that office and gone door to door until you found the fucker." He paused and took a breath. "You don't have to hide behind your mom and sister just because you don't like looking vulnerable, Kiba. I've never known you to be anything other than honest with yourself. And it's  _me_  you're talking to. I'm not going to give you a hard time for being honest with your feelings."

Kiba's frown melded into a scowl and he suddenly found himself angry, angrier than he'd been in a while. "I didn't come here to get lectured or psychoanalyzed, Kankuro. If that's what I wanted I would have stayed home."

"Kiba, don't get an attitude with me-"

"I'll get an attitude if I want!" Kiba hissed as he stood up, throwing his empty shot glass at the other. Kankuro caught it, luckily, though that only seemed to add more fuel to Kiba's fire. "I didn't ask you to try and pick my brain apart. I didn't ask for your opinion at all! You don't know a damn thing about me!"

"I know you better than you might fucking think!" Kankuro snapped back at him as he set their shot glasses aside, standing up. Nearly a head taller than Kiba he had to look down at him, frowning heavily. "I'm not stupid, Kiba; I'm just trying to let you know that you can trust me and talk to me about whatever's bothering you!"

"I haven't seen you in three fucking years, what makes you think I'm so eager to spill my guts to you so suddenly? We're practically strangers!"

Kankuro blinked, eyes widening just a little bit. That wasn't the right thing to say and Kiba knew that right away, the guilt washing over him so fast that it made his stomach twist tightly. Kiba had lied, they weren't strangers at all. They were friends. They were such good friends and Kankuro was doing what any friend would do; he was trying to help. He was trying to make sure Kiba knew he was there for him, even if Kiba was difficult and didn't want to talk about these kind of things. Had it been Shino or Hinata, Kiba knew he probably wouldn't have snapped the way he did. He couldn't take it back now, not after that. Some  _best friend_  he was.

Kankuro cleared his throat after a second and sighed, glancing away. "Look, I know I'm not someone you consider a best friend but you are  _my_  best friend. And believe it or not, I notice shit about you all the time. Every second, every time you say anything. I know when you're too far in your head. I know when you're avoiding your own feelings because getting vulnerable makes you uncomfortable. I was just trying to help you the way you've helped me...but you know what? I'm sorry. I'll drop it."

"I'm going to bed." Kiba muttered, not even a moment after Kankuro had finished speaking. He'd say something stupid if he kept this up, anger and guilt mixing in his gut in a way that made him want to throw up.

"Wh... _Kiba_!"

Kiba was absolutely mortified by at the speed of his departure, rushing upstairs with Akamaru at his heels leaving Kankuro stunned, and maybe a little pissed off in the garden. He felt disgusted with himself actually, disgusted that he'd gotten so worked up and then  _left_  when Kankuro was trying to  _apologize_  to him. Disgusted that he had said something so awful and  _Kankuro_  was the one apologizing, not him. As if he was a child again, a child that couldn't handle a little bit of advice and help from someone older than him. He collapsed onto the bed with a small groan, face pressed into his pillow, and he felt the bed dip as Akamaru jumped up to join him. A wet nose sniffed at the back of his neck and his hair and when Akamaru was pretty sure Kiba wasn't moving anytime soon, he curled up next to him to sleep.

When Kiba woke up the next morning his head kind of hurt, a gentle throbbing that he knew was from his emotional outburst and not from the sake he'd been drinking. He peeled himself out of bed, patting Akamaru's head as he did so, and shuffled out into the hall. It was quiet in the house and Kiba could only assume Gaara had already left and Kankuro was still asleep. The thought of Kankuro, and the thought of facing him again after last night, made Kiba want to ram his head into the closest wall. He'd have to apologize for sure, he knew. No, he  _needed_  to apologize for acting like such a child, arrogant and throwing a fit the way he had. That wasn't how his mother raised him to be; it was down right shameful.

He grabbed a towel on his way to the bathroom, stripping off his clothes and turning on the water. It took a minute for the cold water to balance the hot out, to make it bearable so he wasn't boiling his skin off while trying to wash off, so he turned to look at himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess and he looked tired, like he hadn't slept at all, and it made him grimace a bit. He glanced at his clothes, discarded on the bathroom floor, to consider how clean they were. They'd been freshly washed yesterday when Kankuro had left them by his door and he wore them out in the village once. They'd be fine for another day.

Kiba stepped into the shower, sighing softly as the water hit his skin, and he tilted his head back to soak his hair. He had a vague concern about his mom and sister, wondering what they were up to, wondering how it made them feel to know Kiba was, quite possibly, in the same village as the man they hadn't seen in ages. His sister was probably busy at the clinic as always. Tsume, though, was probably at home caring for Akamaru's pups and the other dogs they had there. She had a lot of free time now that she wasn't on active duty anymore, free time she usually spent with the dogs or at the clinic when she could. Kiba just hoped she wasn't giving herself too much time to think, to get caught up in her own thoughts and make herself upset like he knew she did sometimes. That might have been something he learned from her, too.

He was in the middle of washing his hair when he heard a loud and sudden knock on the bathroom door.

"I'm coming in!" Kankuro announced, stepping into the bathroom without waiting for a response. The opening of the door sent a rush of cool air in and Kiba shuddered a bit, huffing softly. Kankuro snorted as he closed the door a bit, keeping it cracked open. "You're all huffy first thing in the morning?"

"Was cold," Kiba muttered over the sound of the water. He tilted his head back again, scrubbing the shampoo out of his hair. "Don't you have a bathroom down stairs?"

"Yeah but this one was closer." Kankuro replied. "Do you need clean clothes, by the way? Or are you gonna wear the ones you have so elegantly tossed on the floor?"

"Those ones on the floor are still clean!" Kiba insisted. "I'm a ninja; I  _know_  when clothes are too dirty to wear."

"Alright, but don't hesitate to ask me for clothes to borrow if you need them." Kankuro didn't sound upset with him which should have been a good sign, but Kiba couldn't help but still feel anxious. He might have felt better if Kankuro had barged in to yell at him or anything else really. But Kankuro sounded fine. He should not have sounded fine. He should not have sounded so casual and okay after what Kiba had said to him.

"Which shampoo in there have you been using?" Kankuro's voice startled him out of his thoughts.

Kiba reached for the shampoo bottle, squinting at it for a second. "It's flowery smelling."

"Is the bottle running out?"

"No, it's like half full still."

"Alright."

They fell silent, Kiba just barely able to hear the sound of the sink running over the sound of the shower. He rinsed himself off, washed all the soap from his body, and then promptly stuck his head out from the shower curtain to see what the other man was doing. Kankuro, shirtless like the morning before, was at the sink, as he thought, in the middle of brushing his teeth when he caught sight of Kiba's head poking out from the shower in the steadily fogging bathroom mirror. With his mouth still filled with toothpaste, Kankuro chuckled. "Can I help you?"

"I was just seeing what you were doing." Kiba replied, watching him. "You couldn't wait like ten minutes to do that?"

"Nope. Don't tell me you're worried about me seeing you naked because buddy, you wouldn't be the first naked guy I've seen." Kankuro looked all too smug, going back to brushing his teeth. On the side of the sink he had the little jars of face paint he kept, uncapped and ready to be used. Kiba hadn't seen him apply his paint before and the possibility of seeing him do it now...well, he found himself being a little eager.

"I'm not worried about you seeing me naked." Kiba retorted, ducking back into the shower and rinsing himself off one more time, reaching back to shut the water off. Yanking the shower curtain aside, he used his free hand to push his soaked hair out of his face as he looked around for his towel. He scooped it up from the floor, wrapping his around his waist as he stepped out and stretched, his back popping. Kankuro was watching him through the slightly fogged mirror and Kiba caught his gaze curiously. "What?"

Kankuro shook his head. "Nothing. If you need another towel for your hair use mine; it's the green one hanging on the hook by the door."

Kiba reached for the towel in question and started to dry is hair off, fighting off the awkward hesitation threatening to settle over his mind. Now was the perfect time to apologize, alone in the bathroom with the same guy he offended. Being naked hadn't been part of his apology plan, but the towel helped. A little bit. He sighed softly, glancing over at Kankuro for another second as he set the green towel aside. "Hey...Kankuro?"

"Yeah?" Kankuro rinsed his tooth brush off and set it aside, reaching for one of the jars of purple paint. "What's up?"

"I uh..." Kiba sighed again and unwrapped his towel from his waist, letting it drop to the floor. "I'm sorry for snapping at you last night. And for just...bailing when you were apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong I guess I'm just...sensitive when it comes to all this emotional stuff. I'm sorry."

Kankuro had turned to face him half way through his apology, surprise written all over his face, purple paint smeared on his finger tips. He blinked a couple of times and then nodded slowly, a side ways smile on his lips. "Well...thanks for the apology. I wasn't mad or anything but the apology is appreciated. I was just more worried about how you were feeling."

"You're not mad?" Kiba snorted, shaking his head a little bit as he reached for his discarded boxers on the ground. "I was sort of expecting you to be angry or...want to hit me or something."

"You know that if I wanted to hit you I would have." Kankuro had turned back to the mirror as he started applying his face paint. His actions were slower than Kiba expected, considering how long he'd been doing it. They drug over his lips with a tender sort of care Kiba hadn't ever...associated with the puppet master before. Though he supposed that shouldn't have been too surprising; Kankuro's paint always looked flawless, like he took great care in the application of it. Seeing him do it now, it was kind of nice to watch.

"Why'd you start wearing that stuff?" Kiba found himself asking before he could stop himself, tugging on his pants. "Was it like a favorable aesthetic for you or something else?"

Kankuro made a noise, acknowledging his question, as he continued to apply his paint around his mouth. Kiba watched him in the mirror, watching the way those fingers danced across chapped lips, being careful not to smudge anything. The silence stretched on as Kankuro painted along his jaw gently and Kiba was alright with that, grabbing the towel so he could continue drying his hair off again.

When Kankuro finally spoke it made Kiba glance over at him again, catching just the smallest glimpse of a frown on those now purple-painted lips.

"I was told I looked like our dad when I was a kid. Given how much time I spent around Gaara and what Dad was like...I figured it was only fair that I do what I can to hide the resemblance. It wasn't fair to Gaara."

It wasn't fair to Kankuro either, Kiba wanted to argue. But it wasn't the time nor the place to say such a thing, in a cramped, half fogged up bathroom. Later, maybe, when Kiba was over his unease that had settled after last night. Dads were a difficult topic, after all, and he didn't want to pry too deep when he wasn't even sure where their boundaries were in the first place.

Kiba kind of lost himself to his thoughts as he continued drying his hair, wondering if Gaara had found anything useful. The Kazekage was trying hard, that much Kiba could tell, but he was anxious and the more he waited the more time he was given to over think everything that could happen. A part of him knew by now that if his dad ended up not being in Suna at all, he'd be down right furious. Throwing a fit in the Kazekage's office wouldn't look good on him nor on Konoha.

Finger tips trailing up his arm startled him out of his thoughts and he jerked back a bit, wide eyes looking at the other man that was suddenly only inches away. Kankuro's fingers, the ones not covered in purple paint, stroked up Kiba's arm all the way up to his shoulder. It made Kiba's face heat up, eyes narrowing in confusion as he watched Kankuro closely. He had a look on his face, like he was deep in thought, and when his eyes flickered up finally to meet Kiba's confused gaze, a grin formed on those purple lips. "You've gotten kinda bigger. Muscle wise."

"What?" Kiba looked down at his own arm, cocking his head. "I mean I guess so? I don't notice."

"Of course you don't." Kankuro's fingers left his skin, making Kiba shiver just a little bit as the touch was lost.

Kiba tugged on his fishnet shirt after that, fighting off the weird feeling that had come over him. Kankuro had never touched him  _like that_. A few hugs, sure. High fives? All the time. But never something so  _delicate_  and  _curious_.

As if he needed any more weird feelings to try and figure out while he was here.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? Kudos, please, or comments!  
> You can find me on [Tumblr](http://my-tatteredwingsof-freedom.tumblr.com/)


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